Live every day

Vitals the day before

I’m on the patio, listening to the birds, gazing at the Pacific Ocean through a thin layer of rustling palm trees. The race starts in less than 12 hours and at this moment I’m feeling calm, confident and incredibly lucky to be here, doing what I’m doing.

The island has been kind thus far.

I’ve been eating well (lots of fish, salads, fruit and Cliff Bars), decompressing (stretching, rolling out my feet and legs, reading by the pool and generally lying around) and putting one foot in front of the other to prep for the race.

We took a short ride on Friday to make sure our bikes had survived the trip and were functioning properly. We only rode for about five miles but the wind was ferocious. I had heard about the windy conditions but this was something you had to experience to understand. It is supposed to die down by tomorrow, hopefully.

I discovered a tear in my back tire – suffered during the transport – and fortunately the shipping company replaced the tire quickly without much hassle.

We took a lovely practice swim in the Pacific Ocean this morning. I swam for 1600 meters, but the water was so nice, I felt like I could have kept swimming all day. I could see fish and coral beneathe me and felt like I was being carried by the buoyant water. Again, lovely.

My main worry at this point – as there’s always something to agonize over – is my bruised left foot and the rocky, lava-lined run I’ll face to finish the race. I bruised it a few weeks ago and have been nursing it ever since. It’s not going to stop me, but I hope it doesn’t slow me down too much. This is for time, after all.